The present invention relates to an apparatus and method for gaming and, particularly, but not exclusively, to an apparatus and method for displaying gaming related information.
Gaming is implemented by many types of gaming systems, providing many different types of games. These include traditional type casino games, such as roulette, Keno, bingo and many others, all of which may nowadays be implemented in electronic form (in many cases utilising video display screens). These also include gaming systems which comprise a game controller arranged to control the random display of several symbols from a pre-determined set of symbols and to determine a game outcome such as a game win, based on the displayed symbols. Such gaming systems may commonly be implemented as a stepper machine provided with reels, with each reel carrying several symbols of the set, or a video machine wherein selected symbols are displayed on virtual reels in a graphical display device. Win outcomes can occur based on symbols appearing on one or more horizontal lines, diagonal lines, or in any other pre-determined way.
Known gaming systems and gaming machines (such as Electronic Gaming Machines, “EGMs”), use various lighting and sound effects to attract, stimulate and entertain players, and also to provide information on progression of a game, which may be an individual game played on the machine or a linked game played by several players. Separate displays may be provided for displaying different information on different games, advertising or other information. The provision of separate displays or displays which provide different gaming and advertising information from the “main” game played on the machine, may require construction of expensive apparatus, particularly where the displays are implemented in an EGM.
In some gaming apparatus, such as EGMs, a “main” display may be provided for displaying aspects of a main game, for example symbol selection games such as discussed above, and a secondary display, usually mounted above the main display in a “top box”, may be provided to display other information. The other information may include information on other games, such as games played on the EGM, progressive jackpot levels, and/or various illuminated or video artwork associated with the EGM.
These secondary displays are part of the EGM and therefore add to the expense of the EGM. They are designed specifically to operate within and as part of the EGM.
It is known to provide “toppers” which are separate displays units that may be mounted to an EGM. Commonly, toppers merely display artwork (which may be illuminated) associated with the EGM or are driven by another device, such as a jackpot controller, for example, to show the progression of a linked jackpot. These toppers are usually machine specific. That is, they are designed for particular EGM, or a particular linked game. Typically these toppers are in the form of backlit printed glass bearing the name of the game. Inasmuch as the printed glass is a fixed medium, the toppers have been designed to identify the game to players from a distance so the players can find the game among other games on the casino floor.